The Book of Margery Kempe Book I, Chapters 61-65 Summary

Chapter 61

Kempe is very excited to hear sermons from a new rock star of a friar who has come to her hometown of Lynn.
The parish priest warns the new friar about Kempe's cryings and begs him to be patient with her, since she is holy.
So Kempe goes with the crowds of people to hear the friar speak—and she does her crying thing. The friar puts up with it well enough the first time.
But the second time round, the friar can't take it. He publicly shames Kempe for it and stirs up the people in the area to hate her.
Several of Kempe's clerical friends visit with the new friar to convince him that Kempe is really quite holy and that her screaming is a gift from God.
But the friar isn't biting, and he promises all these emissaries that he will continue to speak against Kempe if she shows up at his sermons.
Then Kempe's friends advise her not to go to the friar's little talks. She feels horribly excluded, but she attends the sermons of others and gets along.
Kempe mentions that although she has many detractors, there are also many people who champion her cause and are happy to have her around.

Kempe's nemesis, the "good friar," preaches another sermon that disrespects her. Only this time, Kempe has more supporters, and they begin to complain.
The friar puts his foot down and tells Kempe's supporters that any more unrest will cause him to persecute Kempe more directly.
The priest who eventually writes down Kempe's book (possibly her confessor, Robert Spryngolde) starts to doubt his belief in Kempe. But after reading the life of Mary of Oignies (also a champion crybaby), he comes back to Kempe's side.
The priest also starts crying when he conducts Mass, and he gets it: Kempe is not faking. She really feels the presence of God.
The priest suddenly sees accounts of tears and crying in other devotional works and feels justified in supporting Kempe.
Kempe says that other people have started to see that she's the real thing and begun supporting her. But she still has her haters, who say that she is possessed by the devil. They want the "good friar" to drive the demons from her.
Kempe emphasizes that her tears are not hers by choice: they are imposed on her from above.

Kempe refuses to leave town, as some of her friends suggest. She thinks it's appropriate to do her penance (by being slandered) in the town where she sinned the most.
Things are bad for Kempe. Her confessor points out that almost everyone except him is against her. She tells him to cheer up, because all will end well.
Jesus reminds Kempe that those who don't believe in her spirituality are cursed—especially if they are clerics. He also tells her that HE is in control of her crying: it's not a choice that she gets to make.
Kempe tries to leave church when her crying becomes uncontrollable, but Jesus orders her back in. He also promises that she will not cry so much for a while, until things calm down.
This happens, but people say it is because Kempe is afraid of the "good friar" who preaches against her.
Jesus further comforts Kempe by reminding her that she's on the path to heaven, since she is being bullied for his sake. He tells her not to reveal her visions to the friar, because the friar isn't worthy to hear of them.
Jesus promises that the friar will be punished. He reminds Kempe that she has to put aside everything she wants for herself and listen only to what he wants of her. If she does this, she'll have what she wants: eternity in heaven, with no punishment in the afterlife.
Jesus remembers that Kempe made him "steward of [her] household and executor of all [her] good works" (see Chapter 8). He promises to do right by her in time.

Kempe is still trying to find the best way to show her love for Christ. He tells her that she can't understand yet how much he loves her. She'll figure it out in the afterlife, though, and be very happy because of all the good thoughts and deeds she had on earth.
Jesus also tells Kempe that she doesn't need clerics to approve her way of life. He will teach her, and he will approve of her actions.
Jesus explains that he will be obedient to Kempe's desires if she is obedient to him. It's kind of like a marriage vow.
Kempe thinks it would be a good idea if Jesus would show clerics how to live the kind of life that she is living—but Jesus thinks this is a bad idea. He says that only the truly humble can live her kind of life, since she is not afraid of being hated and shunned. Clerics live for praise.
Jesus also says that there is a lot of evil hidden under the holiness of the religious life, and so men of the cloth cannot possibly be given the grace that Kempe has.
Jesus can only restrain his vengeance on such people because Kempe has prayed for them all. Jesus gives her props for such good spiritual works.
Kempe asks Jesus not to punish anyone on her account. She wants everyone to be saved from the fires of hell. She promises to weep for them so that they have a better chance in the afterlife.

Jesus tries to comfort Kempe by saying that he only damns those to hell who really, really deserve it.
Jesus tells Kempe that she should thank God for her weeping, since she suffers on earth for her sins (rather than in the afterlife, where things would be much worse).
But Jesus doesn't want Kempe to get a big head about all her good behavior: he reminds her that she is like this because God wants her to be. It's God who is giving her the initiative to do good works and penance.
Still, God's pretty pleased with Kempe. Jesus thanks her for sticking to her way of life and for taking his side whenever others behave badly.
Jesus ends by encouraging Kempe and reminding her that she has all the angels and saints in heaven to comfort her if she needs it. He also tells her that she can say "Jesus is my love," because they are on such intimate terms.
Jesus says that Kempe's had many other signs that he loves her (i.e. she's allowed to live chaste though married, she now loves him with all her heart though she didn't think she could, etc.).